{"id":566760,"date":"2020-09-22T05:46:10","date_gmt":"2020-09-22T09:46:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=566760"},"modified":"2020-09-22T05:46:10","modified_gmt":"2020-09-22T09:46:10","slug":"fans-will-not-return-to-live-sporting-events-in-october","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2020\/09\/22\/fans-will-not-return-to-live-sporting-events-in-october\/","title":{"rendered":"Plans for Fans to Make October Return Paused by Government"},"content":{"rendered":"

Plans to get fans to return to live sporting events in October has been temporarily paused. According to BBC Sport<\/a>, the on-going pandemic’s recent-rise means that fans will not be let back into stadiums as planned.<\/p>\n

The notion of letting fans return to sporting events was placed under review earlier this month<\/a>. However, the UK\u2019s Covid-19 alert level has moved to 4, meaning transmission is \u2018high or rising exponentially\u2019, therefore leaving the government with no choice but to scrap such plans.<\/p>\n

Plans for Returning Fans to Live Sporting Events Temporarily Scrapped<\/h2>\n

Ever-Shifting Government Guidelines Impacting Live Sporting Events<\/h3>\n

In the uncertain times the country and much of the world finds itself in at the moment, nothing is set in stone. All plans have to be provisional because the threat posed by Covid-19 is extremely difficult to monitor.<\/p>\n

Initially, there was going to be a staged return to live sporting events. But, speaking to BBC Breakfast<\/a>, Michael Gove confirmed that this proposal had been temporarily paused and delayed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were looking at a staged programme that allowed fans to return \u2013 it wasn\u2019t going to be the case that we were going to have stadiums thronged with fans,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe virus is less likely to spread outdoors than indoors but again it\u2019s in the nature of major sporting events that there\u2019s a lot of mingling\u201d.<\/p>\n

Football and other Major Sports Catalyst to the First Wave<\/h3>\n

Since March, football, as well as the majority of live sporting events, have been played behind closed doors. Although, nine clubs trialled having 1000 fans back in their stadiums last Saturday<\/a>, as part of a pilot event.<\/p>\n

With those plans imminently scrapped, the government are reacting promptly for a reason. Major sporting events in March, including Liverpool\u2019s<\/a> Champions League tie with Atletico Madrid<\/a> and Cheltenham Festival have come under scrutiny<\/a>. Many believed that these events should not have been allowed to go ahead.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Liverpool\u2019s match with Atletico Madrid was investigated by the city\u2019s council<\/a>. Liverpool City Council were examining whether the data could give any indication of the impact the fixture had on the spread of Coronavirus.<\/p>\n

Main Photo
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>